Sweet Sixteen
by rachellev
Summary: Alli Bhandari is having a sweet sixteen, and is reunited with her former classmates for the first time since transferring.
1. Campus

_Then I see you,  
You're walking cross the campus  
Cruel professor,  
Studying romances_

Two girls in uniform walked down the hallway of Sacred Hearts School of Girls, an all girl high school in Downtown Toronto. Their last period of the day had just ended, and they still needed to drop off their books in their lockers.

"Alli, your birthday is this weekend, right?" asked Keera, a fair skinned girl with long brown hair.

"Yeah, Saturday night at 7:00," Alli said with a smile. "But come early to set up, alright?"

"Of course, darling!" Keera shouted as she began to join the rush down the hall, and was soon swallowed in the mass of button shirts and plaid skirts.

While finishing up at her locker Alli reminisced the past few months at her new school. She'd met Keera the first day and they immediately became best friends, giggling like girls who had known each other for years. But in a couple of days, her new friends from Sacred Hearts would meet everyone from Degrassi… and Alli had no idea how the two would mix. She had made Clare promise to help set up weeks ago, and was most nervous to see if she would like Keera. Her two best friends hating each other would not be a good start.

_You look inside and turn to the door_

"CLARE!" Alli squealed as soon as she opened the door. The two girls hugged and excitedly ran inside. They talked about school, life, and everything else that had happened since Alli left Degrassi. Clare talked about her relationship with Eli, and Alli mentioned that Keera should be coming over soon to help set up.

"Before she comes, I think there's something I should tell you," Clare hesitantly stated.

Alli began to worry and think of all the possible nightmares, but Clare interrupted her thoughts by nervously blurting, "Well, I invited Adam to come tonight because he's one Eli's and my best friends, and he kind of mentioned it to his brother… Drew is coming tonight."

Alli didn't even know how to react. She had left Degrassi to get away from that jerk in the first place! But instead, she took a deep breath and said, "It's alright Clare. Let's see how this goes."


	2. We Are Golden

**Author's Note: I do not own Degrassi, its characters, We Are Golden by Mika, or Campus by Vampire Weekend from the previous chapter.**

**A shout out and huge thank you to every one who added this story to their alerts or reviewed. This is for you.**

Just after Clare's ominous announcement, the door bell rang and Alli jumped, already wound up from the tension of knowing that she was going to see Drew. In her sudden worked up state, Alli sprung up, sprinted, and crashed into the coffee table before making it to the door. She finally managed to pull open the door, only to hear Clare shout, "I'm judging you!" and Keera squeal, "ALLI!"

Both girls look at each other awkwardly, and Alli quickly stammered, "Keera, hi! This is my friend Clare; I told you she was coming over too remember?"

Getting over their strange first encounter, Keera walked over to the couch and plopped down next to Clare, exclaiming, "Hi!" and reaching for a hug. It seemed that Clare had decided that Alli's new friend wasn't so bad, as she returned the hug and said simply, "Let's get to work."

The three girls began decorating busily, plastering the walls with streamers and signs, and before they knew it the party was only 20 minutes away.

Sav came running down the stairs with various pieces of technical equipment, and stopped to say, "This looks really great guys. Alli, I have to finish setting up the DJ booth, but you know that since I got mom and dad to stay away for the night you have to make sure _nothing_ happens at this party."

"Got it Sav!" Alli remarked, and got back to decorating.

"No parents?" Clare inquired skeptically. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah," Keera chimed in, "You've told me about why you left Degrassi; this might not end well."

"Come on guys, what is this, an intervention? I've grown up, I've changed! I can't believe you're doing this to me on my birthday!"

Alli plopped down on the couch with a defeated air, trying to hold back the tears that were beginning to well in the corners of her eyes. All she could think of was the boiler room and "Backwoods Bhandari".

"Aww, come on Alli, we're sorry," Clare murmured, pulling her best friend in for a consoling hug.

"Yeah, I am too darling, don't cry," crooned Keera. "Your mascara will run!"

Alli sniffled, and then smiled as she thought of how she could've gotten such different but amazing best friends.

"Come on girls," Alli said. "Let's make this a night we'll never forget."

_Teenage dreams in a teenage circus_

_Running around like a clown on purpose_

_Who gives a damn about the family you come from_

_No giving up when you're young and you want some_


	3. Let Go

**Disclaimer: I do not own Degrassi or Let Go by Frou Frou.**

_drink up, baby down_  
_mmm, are you in or are you out_  
_leave your things behind_  
_'cause it's all going off without you_

Alli wasn't quite sure what was going on. Everything in the room just seemed so bright, so much louder than usual. She was wandering around her living room, just trying to make sense of it all, when she saw Clare talking to Adam in the corner, looking pretty annoyed.

She stumbled over to the two, beaming, and exclaimed "Clare Bear!" while flailing her arms. Clare seemed to register that she was aiming for a hug and grabbed the falling Alli while hissing, "I told you not to let the party end up like this!"

"What, what's wrong Clare?" whimpered Alli with a pout.

"Oh I don't know," replied Clare, seething with an unheard of tone of sarcasm. "First of all, where are Sav and Holly J, huh? It seems your supervision got a little distracted and ran off. Second, you're a _teensy_ bit drunk, Alli. And lastly, your new friend is getting some action over by that wall that you might not be too happy about."

Still supported by Clare's arms, Alli turned her head only to see Keera hooking up with Drew. While she'd been dreading his presence, it seemed her "best friend" had been feeling quite the opposite. The sudden anger frothing throughout her cleared her head for a slight moment, and she stated, "You know what Clare? It was great talking to you. I think I'm gonna get back to the party."

Alli could feel Adam and Clare's gazes as she walked away, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. As much as she hated to admit it, her heart had been broken yet again. And only another drink could keep the pain away.

She poured some punch into a red, plastic cup, and she could taste the alcohol one of the partygoers had obviously slipped in. She only took a few sips before she felt an arm around her and, "I hate to see a pretty girl cry," whispered in her ear.

Alli slurred, "What are you talking about?" as she wiped away the tears she hadn't even noticed begin to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Come on, Alli. You can't stand the thought of Drew with anyone else. You need something to take your mind off of everything, let's just have some fun, babe."

Alli finally turned around, only to discover the voice was Owen.

"Ugh, let go of me! I don't want anything to do with you," Alli answered, sounding much less assertive than she had hoped for.

"You know that's not true. Sure, we panicked in the boiler room but that doesn't mean it wasn't right. We'd be good together." Owen grabbed her hand and walked her into an uninhabited hallway.

"This is nice," he said. "It's dark, just you and me…"

As he began to kiss her, Alli felt her willpower crumble. She was going on whatever ride Owen was going to take her, and she didn't know if she'd like the result.

_so let go, jump in_  
_oh well, whatcha waiting for_  
_it's alright_  
_'cause there's beauty in the breakdown_


End file.
